Transportation System

ABSTRACT

A mass transit system includes a plurality of pedestal-mounted rings which provide a support through which a vehicle travels. The pedestals are spaced apart on the ground, but no rail or connecting structure on or above ground is required. An underground conduit carries electrical and communications cable that connects the pedestals together. The rings include a plurality of rollers to drive, guide and stabilize the vehicle at lower speeds. For higher speeds flywheels are mounted on the pedestals. The flywheels are preferably driven by an electrical motor, which engages a friction or clutch plate on the vehicle separate from the rings. The friction plate or linear clutch is mounted separate from the rings on the vehicle and is lowered to engage and disengage the flywheel. The flywheel is also mounted on a shock absorber to smooth the travel of the vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuing application of pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/950,949, filed Sep. 27, 2004 and further claims the benefit of 35U.S.C. 111(b) U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/506,896, filedSep. 29, 2003, both hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of transportationsystems and, more particularly, to a mass-transit system including aplurality of pedestal mounted rings to guide and propel an elongatedvehicle carrying passengers, cargo, and the like.

2. Background of the Invention

Transportation of people and cargo has become increasingly important inour modern lives. In the United States, modes of travel between citiesoffer few options, typically by air, bus, personal automobile, and to alimited extent by conventional rail. Other countries in the world, mostnotably Japan and France, have developed high speed rail systems betweenmajor destinations, but these systems rely for the most part onconventional rail infrastructure with some technological improvements inthe rails and the locomotives.

A major drawback in such conventional rail systems lies in theexorbitant costs of building, maintaining, and operating such systems.The initial cost of building a high-speed, conventional rail system canrun into literally billions of U.S. dollars, depending on the size ofthe rail system, the geographical obstacles that have to be overcome,and many other factors. In fact, there is a real need for mass transitbetween cities, where the initial cost is the overriding barrier to theinstallation of such a system.

Another drawback to conventional rail systems is the problem of theenvironmental impact of such systems. Typically, rail systems include aright of way which must be cleared and on which the rails and varioussupport systems are installed. Also, the locomotives are most oftendiesel powered, which contributes to air born pollution. For electricsystems, the amount of electrical power that is consumed must beprovided by power generation systems, which throughout the world areprincipally hydrocarbon fueled, again contributing to the pollutionloading of the world's environment. The environmental impact of suchsystems also includes the man-made barriers of the rails and the rightof ways.

Another important innovation in recent times was the magnetic levitation(MagLev) system. While such systems have improved the speed of travel,such systems also rely on continuous rail, whether on the ground orsuspended in the air.

Thus, there remains a need for a transportation system for which railsare not required. Such a system should be relatively inexpensive tobuild and operate, and should not create the man-made barriers so commonin conventional rail systems. The present invention is directed to sucha system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves these and other needs in the art byproviding a plurality of pedestal mounted rings through which a vehicletravels. The pedestals are spaced apart on the ground, but no rail orconnecting structure on or above ground is required. Power is madeavailable from a source which may be an underground conduit carryingelectrical and communications cable that connects the pedestalstogether.

The rings include a plurality of rollers to guide and stabilize thevehicle. The rollers in the rings engage the rails and also providemotive force to move the vehicle at lower speed levels. The rollers aredriven by electrical motors for lower speed transportation systems.Also, mounted on each pedestal is a flywheel, preferably driven by anelectrical motor, which engages a friction plate on the vehicle. Thefriction plate or linear clutch is lowered to engage and disengage theflywheel on the pedestal. The flywheel is also mounted on a shockabsorber to smooth the travel of the vehicle.

For lower speed transportation systems, the friction plate serves as afriction clutch and is used for vehicle braking purposes. For higherspeed transportation systems, the flywheel transfers motive force to thefriction plate to propel the vehicle through the supports of the system,while the action of the rollers and rails is used primarily for steeringor guidance purposes.

The rings are large enough to enclose the diameter of the vehicle, about20 feet in diameter in the preferred embodiment. The pedestal ispreferably about 16 feet high, or more, to provide adequate clearancefor any automobile or other wheeled vehicle traveling on a roadwayunderneath the line of travel of the vehicle of the present invention.The pedestal is mounted to a robust base structure, which may extend,for example, 30 feet below the surface of the ground, in order toprovide sufficient margin for the strength of the support system.

The present invention also includes an energy saving feature whichprovides support rails along the vehicle to engage the rollers on therings. The vehicle rails are preferably hollow rectangular conduitswhich carry liquid nitrogen or other suitably cold fluids. The nitrogenis carried on board the vehicle and vented or circulated to the vehiclerails. The nitrogen rapidly cools the rails, and thereby creates an icelayer on the rails by condensing atmospheric moisture on the rail. Theice layer substantially reduces the drag that the vehicle experiences asit travels by limiting the ability of the rail and rollers to bondtogether.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the followingdetailed description along with the accompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the transportation system ofthis invention.

FIG. 2 a is a side elevation view of the vehicle of this invention, andFIG. 2 b is a side elevation view of the vehicle deployed in a set ofrings.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of one end of a vehicle, illustrating anair resistance braking system which assists in stopping a vehicle.

FIG. 4 a is a front elevation view of a ring of this invention,including pedestal, base, and vehicle guide rollers.

FIGS. 4 b and 4 c are isometric views of other alternate rings accordingto the present invention.

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b are top and side view of a side rail jointrespectively.

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b are side and end views of a vehicle guide roller,respectively.

FIG. 7 is a side detail view illustrating certain features of a vehicleof this invention.

FIGS. 8 a and 8 b are side elevation views of the vehicle illustratingclutch engagement and disengagement of the flywheel, in accordance withthis invention.

FIGS. 9 a and 9 b are front and side view of a flywheel assembly of thisinvention.

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of rings arranged in vertical multiplesaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of rings arranged in horizontal tandemaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of an arrangement for moving a vehicle accordingto the present invention to a different path of travel.

FIG. 13 is a top view of a modification of a vehicle according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 is a side elevation view of the modified vehicle of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a front view of a portion of the vehicle of FIGS. 13 and 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 depicts an overall schematic of a transportation system 10constructed in accordance with this invention. The system 10 comprisesan elongated car or vehicle 12 and a plurality of supports 14. The caror vehicle 12 may have suitable number of appropriately located windows12 a and doors 12 b, and a cockpit 12 c for an operator. If the vehicleis to be fully automated, the cockpit 12 c may serve as an observationarea for safety or emergency control purposes. The vehicle body 12 ispresently contemplated to be a unitary structure or it may be anarticulated body, if desired.

The supports 14 are arranged to define a route of travel along a desiredcourse at an elevated height for transport of passengers and cargo. In acontemplated embodiment, the vehicle 12 is about 500 feet long, and thesupports are about 200 feet apart, so that there are typically at leasttwo, and optionally three or mores supports 14 in contact with a vehicle12 at any time. The spacing of the supports 14 and the length of thevehicle 12 are interrelated and may be adjusted based on travel speed,load capacity and other requirements. To the extent that support of themoving vehicle is to be increased, the spacing between the supports 14can be adjusted so that the vehicle 12 is supported at all times by atleast three sets of supports 14 and intermittently by four or moresupports 14. It is presently contemplated that the spacing of supports14 should not exceed fifty percent of the length of the vehicle 12, andin practice it may be less.

The support 14 includes a ring 16, preferably formed of a hard andstrong metal, such as steel. The supports 14 are not shown in certainfigures in the drawings so that other structures such as rings 16 may bemore clearly seem As contemplated by the present invention, the termring is intended to encompass a variety of shapes in verticalcross-section in addition to those of generally circular or ellipticalshape. A ring according to the present invention is a support bodymounted at an elevated or overhead position with one or more portals orpassages through which the body 40 of the vehicle 12 passes. The vehicle12, as will be set forth below, receives motive force from structure inthe rings 16 as it passes through the series of rings 16.

The ring 16 has one or more portals or passages 17 formed in it. Theportals or passages 17 may be circular (FIGS. 4 and 4 a), elliptical,generally rectangular (FIG. 4B) or other shape in vertical crosssection. In some instances, the rings 16 need not include top portions,but may be generally U-shaped with a bottom portion and upwardlyextending arms and rollers 18 to retain, power and guide the vehicle 12.The arms could be either vertically oriented or inwardly or outwardlyinclined. The shape of the portals 17 is established in conformity tothe general outer shape of the body 40 of the vehicle 12 used in thesystem 10. As will be set forth, the rings 16 may have portals 17 inhorizontal tandems (FIG. 4 c) for parallel, same direction travel ofvehicle 12 during peak travel time, or two-way travel along the route oftravel during routine travel times, or for storage of vehicles 12 (FIG.11) when not in use. Further, the rings 16 can be arranged in verticalmultiples (FIG. 10) for parallel, same direction travel, two-way travelor for storage of vehicles 12 when not in use.

The vehicles 12 may be of different shapes based on travel speed, loadrequirements, the course of travel and other factors, with the form ofthe rings 16 and portals 17 conforming to the shape and function of thevehicle 12. In urban applications, double or parallel travel (FIG. 4 c)in congested areas is likely, therefore the vehicle 12 is narrower inwidth than a high-speed intercity version. The narrower body versionallows the vehicle 12 to negotiate a smaller radius curve than would ahigh-speed version having a greater width. For urban and other hightraffic volume applications, the rings 16 may be double portals 17, ormore, and the shape of the portals 17 altered to a more rectangularshape due to lower speed and higher passenger or cargo capacity. Aplurality or rollers 18 are mounted on the inside surface of the ring 16in the portals 17. The rollers 18 serve to support and guide tie vehicle12 through the ring 16. For vehicles 12 traveling at lower travelspeeds, at least some of the rollers 18 are driven by motors to move thevehicle 12 along its travel path through the rings 16. If desire, all ofthe rollers 18 may be motor driven for this purpose. Mounted on thevehicle 12 at suitable points about its periphery to engage the rollers18 are a like number of rails 20.

The rails 20 which are in contact with rollers 18 and driven by asuitable power source thus receive motive force to move the vehicle 12at lower ranges of speed through the transportation system 10. The rails20 may be longitudinally continuous along the body of the vehicle 12, orthey may be either articulated or provided in segments, if desired.

Mounted at one or more positions about the periphery of the vehicle 12and separate from the weight-carrying rails 20 are one or morelongitudinally extending motive force transfer plates 21. The plates 21serve as part of a friction clutch or linear clutch. At lease one suchplate 21 is provided, although it should be understood that there may betwo or more such motive force transfer plates on the vehicle 12 based onload and travel speed requirements, if desired.

The friction clutch or clutches 21 may be longitudinally continuous orsegmented along the length of the vehicle 12. The rollers 18 and therails 20 are shown in greater detail in FIGS. 5 a, 5 b, 6 a, and 6 b.The rails 20 and rollers 18 not driven by motors are passive elements,producing no motive force to move the vehicle 12. Rather, as noted, forlower speed operation one or more of the rails 20 receive motive forcefrom drive mechanisms or motors for some or all of the rollers 18mounted with the support 14.

Thus, the present invention permits the shape of the vehicle 12 to be ofa design to accommodate a variety of capacity ranges and travel routes.Much like railroads, overhead systems according to the present inventionmay have areas of single (FIGS. 4, 4 a and 4 b), double (FIG. 4 c) andeven triple (FIG. 11) travel paths. The main function of the rings 16 isto act as a support structure for the rollers 18. The rollers 18 aredesigned to match with the alignment of the rails 20 on the car 12.Again, as noted the final shape of the rings 16 is a function of theshape of the car 12.

A secondary function of the rings 16 is a safety feature. Since eachring 16 completely encircles the body 40 of the car 12 along acircumferential portion of its length, the car 12 is guided to movethrough the series of rings 16 in its direction of travel. Unlikerailroads where possible disastrous consequences may occur if there is aderailment, the tubular overhead guide design of the present inventionmeans that in the unlikely event of a roller failure, the clutch plates21 and rails 20 on the car 12 then come in contact with the reinforcedbody of the rings 16 and the car 12 would then slide to a stop. The factthat the rings 16 enclose the car 12 in a 360° manner while the car 12is supported by at least three rings 16 means that the car 12 mayproceed to the next ring along the travel path under its own momentum inthe event of power loss or roller failure. Another benefit of thecircumferentially enclosing ring 16 as opposed to an open top is thatthis enclosing structure provides greater structural strength to thering 16.

Turning to FIG. 4 a, an example ring 16 and related components areillustrated. Mounted on the inside of the ring 16 are the rollers 18,with at least one roller 18 mounted on the top and at least one roller18 mounted on each side. There are preferably two such rollers 18 on thebottom, to provide greater vertical support of the vehicle 12 and toprovide greater lateral stability. The number of rollers 18 provided inthe ring 16 below the vehicle 12 may be increased, if desired, for loadand weight distribution purposes.

The ring 16 is mounted in a support member 22, which may preferably bereinforced concrete. The support member 22 may of course be made ofsteel or of other suitable structural material if desired. The supportmember 22 is mounted on top of a pedestal 24, which may for example beabout sixteen feet high, three feet wide, and tree feet thick. Thepedestal 24 may be of concrete, steel or other suitable structuralmaterials. Those of skill in the art will recognize that the height ofthe pedestal may vary with the topography of the land over which thesystem 10 is installed in order to make the travel path of the vehicle12 substantially level, so that movement of the car 12 is as even andsmooth as possible. The pedestal 24 is mounted to and formedcontiguously with a base 26, which preferably extends about thirty feetinto the ground, and is ten feet wide, and three feet thick. The base 26as shown is intended as illustrative only, and will vary depending onthe subterranean structure of the subsoil, climate and weather factorsand other such considerations.

Unlike traditional railways that carry their power generating capacitywith them in the form of a locomotive (the French TGV system havingabout 12,000 hp) that generates power and transmits it to stationaryrails, the present invention has a power source (motors) on the rings 16that impart motive force to the moving vehicle 12.

An advantage of this is that power demand for moving the vehicle 12 ismatched to localized need. In other words additional power is suppliedfor rings located in areas along the route of travel where accelerationof the vehicle 12 is required and less power is provided where the needis for power in maintaining momentum of the vehicle 12.

Direct drive of the moving vehicle 12 is, as noted, furnished bystationary electric motors for the rollers 18 at lower speeds such as inurban areas. This allows systems to have increased size of motors and agreater number of motors for areas of acceleration or hill climbing.Further, with the present invention, once design speed has been achievedfor a given section of route by the vehicle 12, as the vehicle 12 entersthe next ring 16 along the route of travel it encounters the rollers 18of that next ring 16 at a time when those rollers have been brought upto a speed by their drive motors slightly higher than the design speedof the vehicle 12 for that section of the route. The motors are presetas to speed and timing and the vehicle operator serves mainly in asafety capacity role. If in low speed urban systems where frequent stopsand starts can be expected, it will be possible in some cases toslightly elevate the line of travel going into and out of the stations.This serves two purposes. The first is to aid in acceleration as thevehicle 12 leaves a station, i.e., it begins to move from a ring 16 at aslightly elevated position. The second is to assist at the next stationin braking as the vehicle 12 approaches a station or stop to a slightlyelevated ring 16, i.e., the vehicle 12 is essentially climbing and thusdecelerating as it comes to a stop at that station. This techniquecaptures the kinetic energy of the vehicle 12 and stores it in thevehicle 12 as potential energy and its use may be made available asneeded on a case-by-case basis.

The present invention also allows the rollers 18 to transfer the kineticenergy of the moving vehicle 12 as it is entering a station back intothe system in the braking mode. The kinetic energy may be converted toanother form as it is received then used to drive the motors andregenerate power and feed it back to move the vehicle as it departs.This is an optional feature which may or may not be used, based on costeffectiveness conservations. It is also contemplated that power sourcessuch as linear induction motors can also be used to drive the vehicle 12and provide braking, if desired.

For provision of power for higher speed systems, usually above 55 mph,other sources are presently contemplated to provide motive forces to thevehicle 12. Returning now to FIG. 1, the pedestals 24 as spaced apartalong the path of travel of the vehicle 12. On each pedestal 24 ismounted a support platform 28, each of which retains a flywheel assembly30, shown and described below with regard to FIGS. 9 a and 9 b.

The flywheel assemblies are used to provide motive power to the vehicle12, preferably for higher speeds. Each flywheel assembly 30 includes aflywheel 72 (FIGS. 9 a and 9 b), driven by an electric motor 80, whichis supplied with electrical power from an electrical power supply bus32, (FIG. 1) typically under ground. A conductor 34 taps off the bus 32to provide power to the motor 80. The bus 32 includes redundant powermains, and is supplied from redundant sources for safety and reliabilitypurposes. Thus, in operation, the vehicle 12 is driven by a minimum oftwo and preferably at least three flywheels 72 as the vehicle 12 movesalong its path of travel through a succession of supports 14 and rings16 in the system 10.

On the bottom of the vehicle 12 are one or more transfer plates orlinear friction clutch plates 21, shown and described below with regardto FIGS. 8 a and 8 b. As the vehicle 12 moves along at higher speeds,the flywheel 72 frictionally engages the linear clutch plate 21, movingthe vehicle in the direction of movement of the flywheel 72. The linearclutch plate 21 forms with the flywheel 72 a linear friction clutchwhich can be used for a number of purposes according to the presentinvention. The clutch plate 21 and flywheel 72 may be used to providemomentum to move the vehicle 12 through the system 10 with the flywheel72 rotating in a direction corresponding to desired movement of thevehicle 12. The direction of rotation of the flywheel 72 may be reverseand through contact with the plate 21 provide braking to the vehicle 12.The plates 21 may also be located at positions corresponding to rest orsupport pads on the structure of rings 16 for braking purposes or tosupport the vehicle 12 at a stationary or storage position. The vehicle12 is bi-directional in its movement, governed by the direction ofrotation of the flywheel 72. There are no active drive components on thevehicle 12; its direction of travel is governed on these externalcomponents. To assist in slowing the vehicle, a cowling 15 actuated byair cylinders 19 is provided, as shown in FIG. 3.

The friction clutch plate or plates 21 are typically located beneath thebody 40 of the vehicle 12 for higher speed operations. If desired, theclutch plates 21 may be located on the sides or top of the vehicle 12 tobe engaged by correspondingly positioned flywheels 72. If the flywheelassembly 30, as shown in FIG. 9 a and 9 b, has a set of oppositelydriven flywheels 72, two clutch plates 21 of like construction to thatshown in FIG. 7 are mounted with the vehicle 12 at locationscorresponding to the place and spacing of the flywheels 72. The clutchplate or plates 21 provide friction engagement with the flywheel 72 ofthe flywheel assembly 30. To engage the flywheel 72 with the clutchplate 21, an air bag or other suitable reciprocating movement mechanism74 is inflated, forcing the clutch plate 21 downward until it contactsthe flywheel 72. A spring 76 or other energy and impact absorbingmechanism is provided to reduce possible shock transmitted from theflywheel assembly 30 to the vehicle 12. The clutch plate 21 may also beused at appropriately low speeds of the vehicle 12 as motion retarderand as a form of emergency brake by being brought into contact withoppositely rotating flywheels 72 or the rails 20.

Further details of the flywheel assembly 30 are shown in FIGS. 9 a and 9b. The flywheel 72 is driven by the electric motor 80 through a shaft86. The electric motor 80 is driven by power through a suitableconnection to the conductor 34 (FIG. 1). The electric motor 80 ismounted at a suitable position such as a platform 81 mounted with thepedestal 24. The flywheel 72 is also supported on a set of shockabsorbers 84. The shaft 86 which drives a pinion 88 may if desired beprovided with a rotary coupling 82, as shown. The pinion 88 driven bymotor 80 in turn engages a pinion gear 90, such that the flywheels 72provide rotary motion in either direction as indicated by movementarrows. Thus, in order to drive the vehicle in one direction, the airbag 74 associated with the desired drive rail 70 is inflated, and todrive the vehicle in the opposite direction, the air bag 74 of the otherdrive rail 70 is inflated, thereby engaging the opposite spinningflywheel 72.

For high-speed systems such as those shown, power demands are greater asthe vehicle 12 accelerates. Once a desired speed for the vehicle 12 isachieved, power consumption stabilizes as a function of speed(maintaining desired speed plus overcoming aerodynamic drag and rollingfriction). In order to minimize the size and cost of the motors forhigh-speed versions of the present invention, the energy-storingflywheel 72 is incorporated into the rings 16. This allows a smallermotor (separate from the rollers motor) to use the time between thepassage of the vehicle 12 to bring the flywheel 72 up to a desired speedprior to the arrival of the next vehicle 12. This is a cost savingdesign feature as it allows sufficient power to be brought to bear andavoids the high costs of high-speed locomotives.

However it should be understood that alternative drive mechanisms forthe vehicles 12 might be used. They include, for example, magneticpropulsion, or onboard power generation for developing thrust, such asjet-propelled, or propeller driven motive force generators.

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b depict additional features and details of the vehicle12. The vehicle includes a central, cylindrical fuselage or body 40, thelength of which must be at least the distance between three sequentiallylocated or disposed rings 16. The vehicle 12 also includes a taperedcabin 42 on each end, which may serve as a cockpit, if desired. Mountedwithin the vehicle is a diesel or other power driven generator 44 tosupply electrical power to the vehicle's service, hotel and passengerconvenience loads, such as lights, heating and air conditioning, galleyservices, ventilation, and the like. The diesel generator 44 is suppliedwith energy from a suitable source, such as fuel from an on-board fueltank 46 in the conventional manner. For greater strength and structuralintegrity, the body 40 of vehicle 12 may be designed to be in a state ofcompression, such as through the use of tensioning cables.

The vehicle 12 also houses one or more nitrogen tanks 48. The tanks 48provide nitrogen to the inside of the rails 20 to develop a thin icelayer on the rails to reduce drag and rolling friction, as hereindescribed. This feature of the invention is shown in more detail inFIGS. 5 a, 5 b 6 a, and 6 b. FIG. 5 a shows a top view and FIG. 5 bshows a side view, and together these figures depict details of a rail20. Each rail 20 includes at least one joint 50 which provides forflexing of the rail and the vehicle 12, and accounts for thermalexpansion and retraction. The joint 50 includes an overlap area 52having curved ends to accommodate back and forth flexing of the joint.

The rail 20 preferably defines a curved contact surface 54 whichprovides stable retention of the vehicle 12 within the five rails 20, asshown in FIG. 4. The surface 54 contacts a complementary curved surface56 of the roller 18, and a surface layer of cold condensation or ice isformed between them by the nitrogen system, provided by a nitrogen tube58. An insulation sleeve 60 along each rail 20 conserves thermal energy.As shown in FIG. 6 b, as the vehicle travels in the direction shown by adirectional arrow, a suitably thin layer of condensate is produced asthe leading contact point between the rail 20 and the roller 18,creating a low friction lift between them and reducing drag. Thisfeature substantially reduces the energy required for operation of thesystem 10.

FIGS. 7, 8 a, and 8 b show further details of the undercarriage of thesystem 10. The storage tank 48 supplies chilled or liquid nitrogen orsome other suitably cold fluid through a delivery line 62 into the tube58, which is deployed within and along the length of the rail 20. Thenitrogen in delivery line 62 may be recycled through a continuous loop,or delivery line 62 may be configured so that the cold fluid vents outthrough an outlet vent valve or outlet 64. The linear clutch plate 21 isflexibly mounted to the vehicle 40 with a set of air bags or other shockabsorbers 66, which absorb shock and provide a smooth ride of thevehicle. For more extreme motions of the clutch plates 21 against theflywheel 72, a set of rubber stoppers or bodies 68 act as bumpers toabsorb the impact.

The system 10 according to the present invention may be provided atsuitable locations along its route with a vertical lift system S asshown in FIG. 10. The vertical lift system S would operate in similarengineering principles to lift bridges or floodgates, and allows passageof another vehicle through the lift systems while others have been movedout of the path of travel into a vertically disposed rack 90 to an outof service position. The vehicles 12 in the rack 90 are retained therefor a variety of reasons, such as: allowing passage of another vehicle;storage of vehicles for later use of at times of higher traffic volume;repair; cleaning; maintenance; service and the like. The vertical liftsystem S could also function as a boarding/loading station on point ofdeparture. Passengers could enter a vehicle 12 on the rack which wouldthen be moved into the travel path at time of departure.

The system 10 according to the present invention may also be providedwith a lateral or horizontal transfer/storage system L (FIG. 11) atsuitable locations along its route. The lateral system L has a suitablenumber of rings 16 which are laterally movable in a directionperpendicular to the path of travel within a pedestal supported largerring housing 94. As with the vertical system S, the lateral system Lpermits vehicles to be moved away from the main path of travel forstorage, retention and other reasons mentioned above in connection withthe vertical system S. It should be understood that a system combiningboth vertical and horizontal transfer might also be used.

Further, the system 10 of the present invention is provided with arotary station or table R (FIG. 12), operating on principles like thoseof a railroad round house. Pedestal mounted supports 100 and 102 aremovable in circular, arcuate paths 101 and 103 respectively about acentrally located, rotatable support 104. The supports 100, 102 and 104are otherwise of like structure and operation to the supports 14 withrings 16 of the types shown in FIGS. 4, 4 a or 4 b. The supports 100,102 and 104 are moved into an aligned position to receive a vehicle 12entering the table R in a first direction, as shown in FIG. 12. Afterthe vehicle 12 moves to a position supported by the supports 100, 102and 104, the supports 100 and 102 are moved along their arcuate pathsabout the rotatable support 104 until the vehicle 12 is aligned with adifferent set of rings as shown at 116 or 118 along a new direction oftravel.

Energy is lost to two main factors in any rail system. The first isrolling friction caused by interactions between the rail and the wheel,while the other is aerodynamic drag. Rolling function is virtuallyconstant and varies little with changes in speed or weight of the train.Unlike rolling friction, aerodynamic drag varies greatly with speed andincreases as the square of speed. Thus, a doubling of speed leads to aquadrupling of aerodynamic drag. In general, aerodynamic drag energylosses begin to exceed that of rolling friction in the speed range of 55mph to 70 mph. As has been noted, to the shape of the car 12 may bevaried based on the intended design speed.

For trains, energy consumed in overcoming rolling friction shows littleincrease as speed increases. For high-speed, such as greater than 150mph, aerodynamic related issues are a far greater concern in terms ofenergy losses. For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15, rails20 may be configured to extend forward past the ends of the vehicle body40 to form a rearwardly tapering lead surface in an air drag reducingconfiguration 121 and airfoil members 122 attached to the vehicle 40 forair drag reduction and steering purposes, and countering gravitydeflection.

The reason the rails 120 in FIG. 13 extend fore and aft of the body 12is to lower the weight that becomes cantilevered thus decreasing theamount of deflection. The extended rails 120 come in contact with thenext set of rollers 18 and the weight of the body 12 begins to transferto the next set of rollers 18. The opposite occurs at the rear of thecar body 12 as it leaves the rollers 18. The instantaneous weight on therollers 18 decreases gradually as the car leaves the rollers 18 thuspreventing a snapping action. The rails 120 are also tapered tocounteract what remains of the deflection effect thus providing a smoothtransition. The airfoil 122 is movable and may be pivoted as indicatedin FIG. 15 about an axis corresponding to the longitudinal axis of thevehicle 12. The airfoil 122 is thus rotatably mounted on a structurethat extends from the nose of the taped cabin 42 of vehicle 12 to apoint 124 where the rails 120 come together. The airfoil 122 is capableof some rotational movement that, at speed will produce liftperpendicular to the airfoil surface. This small amount of lift, athigher speeds, will tend to move the rails 120 in the direction of theinduced lift. This also counteracts the deflection effect and can beused to assist in a turn to provide gradual turning to the vehicle 12.

Also, the cooling of the rails below the local dew point and then belowthe freezing point of water will induce atmospheric moisture to condenseon the rails and form a barrier to the formation of molecular bondingbetween the steel of the wheels and the steel rail. Since the cost ofcooling is relatively inexpensive to do with liquid nitrogen (althoughother methods could be used) this method is proposed.

For higher speed operation when the motive force is supplied by thefrictional transference of energy from the flywheel assembly 30reduction of energy lost to rolling friction can greatly lower energyconsumed. As the moisture condenses on the rails it typically freezes,then turns to liquid as the rail nears the roller and pressure rises.This should produce a boundary layer of water under higher pressurebetween two surfaces, thus the hydroplaning effect. This can also bethought of as a form of viscous hydroplaning. This can be enhanced bythe addition of a fine mist of water vapor moving with the rails andcontaining surface tension increasing chemical additives in the vapor.The overall purpose is to reduce the ability of the rail and roller toform molecular and/or metallic bonds thus reducing the energy needed tothen break these bonds.

Rail cooling techniques, if used at all, will find their bestapplications for operations at higher speed. In addition to energysavings the effect should also produce lower noise levels emanating fromthe rail/roller interface. Also it will have a lubricating effect whenit is necessary to force the car into a turn.

The principles, preferred embodiment, and mode of operation of thepresent invention have been described in the foregoing specification.This invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular formsdisclosed, since these are regarded as illustrative rather thanrestrictive. Moreover, variations and changes may be made by thoseskilled in the at without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1.-2. (canceled)
 3. An apparatus for reducing friction comprising: awheel rollingly engaging a rail; a cold fluid flowing adjacent the rail;and a cold condensate being formed between the rail and rolling wheel.4.-12. (canceled)
 13. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the rail ishollow to flow a cold fluid therethrough.
 14. The apparatus of claim 3wherein the cold fluid is liquid nitrogen.
 15. The apparatus of claim 3wherein the cold condensate is a layer of ice.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 15 wherein the cold fluid rapidly cools the rail causing the icelayer to form on the rail.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the icelayer is formed on the rail by condensing atmospheric moisture on therail.
 18. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the cold condensate reducesdrag between the wheel and rail.
 19. The apparatus of claim 3 whereinthe cold condensate limits the bonding between the wheel and rail. 20.The apparatus of claim 3 further including a vehicle carrying the coldfluid and the rail being mounted on the vehicle, the cold fluid beingcirculated from the vehicle to adjacent the rail.
 21. The apparatus ofclaim 3 wherein the rail includes a tube for the cold fluid.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 3 further including an insulation sleeve on the railto conserve thermal energy.
 23. The apparatus of claim 3 furtherincluding a recirculation loop for the cold fluid.
 24. The apparatus ofclaim 3 further including a vent for the cold fluid.
 25. The apparatusof claim 24 wherein the vent includes a valve.
 26. An apparatuscomprising: an elongate vehicle having a body; at least one rail mountedlongitudinally along the vehicle body; a plurality of supports eachforming an elevated portal through which the vehicle travels; a drive oneach of the supports to selectively engage the vehicle; the rail beingengageable by the drive to receive motive power for the vehicle; a coldfluid flowing adjacent the rail; and a cold condensate being formedbetween the rail and the drive.
 27. An apparatus comprising: an elongatevehicle having a body with aft and fore ends; at least one metal railmounted longitudinally along the vehicle body, the at least one metalrail having a side portion extending along the body and at least a foreportion; a plurality of supports each forming an elevated portal; metaldrive rollers on each of the supports to selectively engage the vehicle;the at least one metal rail being engageable by the metal drive rollers;the weight of the vehicle body causing the at least one metal rail tofrictionally engage the metal drive rollers to transfer motive power tothe vehicle; a cold fluid flowing adjacent the rail; a cold condensatebeing formed between the rail and the metal drive rollers; and the foreportion being in contact with the metal drive rollers prior to the sideportion of the rail contacting the metal drive rollers.